A MINOR earthquake was detected off the Warrnambool coast on Thursday afternoon.
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The 4.8 magnitude quake struck at 12.44pm, about 160 kilometres off the south-west coast, near the continental shelf, according to Geoscience Australia.
It was recorded at a depth of 36 kilometres and follows on from a a smaller 2.5 magnitude quake in a similar area, on July 30.
Users of social media reported feeling the seismic activity at Allansford, Deakin University, Portland, Apollo Bay and Lorne.
Dr Mark Leonard, a senior seismologist at Geoscience Australia, said the Australian continent is drifting north and in the process is being wedged between New Zealand and the Himalayas.
"At the same time, Australia is being squeezed east-west; Sydney is getting closer to Perth by about one millimetre each year," he said. “The pressure created from that squeezing, is released in the form of an earthquake.”